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James Patterson now ‘doesn’t believe’ his own claim white male authors face racism-Alicia Adejobi-Entertainment – Metro
The bestselling author came under fire for his comments.
James Patterson has backtracked on his own comment (Picture: FilmMagic)
James Patterson has issued an apology after making eyebrow-raising claims about the struggles white male authors face when finding work in Hollywood.
The 75-year-old, worth an estimated $800million (£665m), is one of the highest-paid authors in the world with many of his thrillers topping bestseller lists worldwide.
Morgan Freeman famously starred in two Hollywood adaptations of his books; Kiss The Girls in 1997 and 2001’s Along Came A Spider.
In a recent interview, Patterson lamented the issues white male authors apparently come across when trying to secure publishing deals for their books in the film and TV industry.
The writer described their struggles as ‘another form of racism’, sparking backlash on social media with many branding his comments ‘tone-deaf’.
Addressing the criticism, Patterson has now backtracked on his original remarks, writing in a Facebook post: ‘I apologise for saying white male writers having trouble finding work is a form of racism.
‘I absolutely do not believe that racism is practiced against white writers. Please know that I strongly support a diversity of voices being heard — in literature, in Hollywood, everywhere.’
In his original comments, Patterson told The Sunday Times: ‘What’s that all about?
‘Can you get a job? Yes. Is it harder? Yes. It’s even harder for older writers. You don’t meet many 52-year-old white males.’
The author is one of the highest-paid novelists in the world with an estimated net worth of $800m (Picture: Getty Images for CBS Films)
Morgan Freeman played the lead in two of Patterson’s early Hollywood adaptations (Picture: Getty Images)
Patterson received a wave of backlash for his ‘tone-deaf’ comments about racism (Picture: FilmMagic)
Leading the stream of criticism against Patterson, Independent publisher Jason Pinter tweeted: ‘I respect everything James Patterson has done for indies and giving back to the industry, but his comments on race are false, hurtful, and beyond tone deaf.’
Sports author Jeff Pearlman was more succinct in his comment, writing: ‘I’m a 50-year-old white writer. And, to James Patterson I say, warmly, boo-f**king-hoo.’
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One other said: ‘Imagine being born the year Jackie Robinson was the first Black MLB player in history, and then growing up to be one of the richest authors in America talking about struggles for white men is ‘another form of racism’—James Patterson GTFO.’
Many pointed out the fact that Patterson enjoyed early success in Hollywood with Freeman, a Black man, playing the lead in two movie adaptations of his novels.
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